The Guard & The Artist
by GeminiMercedes
Summary: Kiba Inuzuka is an up and coming pop artist trying to garner exposure in Konoha City. One night after a performance at a club, he gets an unexpected ride home from the new security guard. KibaXShika Light. ONE-SHOT. AU.


The Guard & The Artist (KibaxShika)

"Give it up for Kiba Inuzuka!" The host of the 'Life of Sin' club screamed as the performer jumped off the stage, microphone still in hand.

"Thanks everyone, you've been great!" Kiba screamed, waving into the crowd of about a hundred people, half intoxicated, half cheering.

Kiba was a pop artist trying to gain momentum in Konoha City. From the age of 14 he had been writing his own songs and by 18 he finally had the courage to record some of the songs in his basement and begin performing.

Unfortunately, there were few clubs in Konoha City that had open mic nights, and so Kiba found himself as a regular performance at the 'Life of Sin' club.

What he liked about the club was how diverse the customers were. People from all over the world came to the district the 'Life of Sin' club resided in, so more times than once he would see people who would dress differently, speak different languages, and have mannerisms completely foreign to Konoha. He loved it. Also, while Konoha was known to be accepting of most lifestyle choices, 'Life of Sin' seemed to embrace all of them. Chicks came with their girlfriends and dudes came with their male partners. Some came just to experiment. Everyone was distinct and interesting, and Kiba always felt extremely welcome.

He walked over to the bar where the owner and bartender Naruto Uzumaki was making mohitos for some foreign customers.

"Hey Kiba, you put on a great show as always!" Naruto said with a smile, turning his attention to the young artist.

"Thanks, I'm beat." Kiba replied, rubbing some sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He was only wearing a fishnet top with baggy black pants, but the club wasn't large and on regular nights like tonight it was packed.

"I bet you are, can I get you anything, on the house of course." Naruto replied, grabbing a clean glass and instinctively rubbing it with a wash cloth.

"Aw, thanks Naruto, just some water please." Kiba said, giving his friend a toothy grin.

"Still got the mentality of a minor I see, coming right up!" Naruto said with a mock sigh. The owner was only 23, but he already owned two clubs in Konoha other than 'Life of Sin'.

Kiba nodded, turning his head to survey the club. Suddenly, his eyes fell upon a tall, slender man with a high ponytail and a black security vest on. The man was watching the club scene carefully, his muscular arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.

"Hey wait who is _that_?" Kiba asked in awe. Naruto turned to look in the direction that he was looking in.

"Oh, that's our new security guard. Our last one was taking too many breaks and was banging customers in the bathroom, so we fired him. This one is _so_ much better; he actually pays attention and only leaves for smoke breaks." Naruto explained, washing beer glasses in the sink.

"Is he…?" Kiba asked, turning back to see his glass of water on the counter.

"No idea, but if he is, you better not hook up in the bathroom, I'm serious Kiba." Naruto replied, raising an eyebrow.

Even in the dark of the club, Kiba's face turned a bright red.

"I-I would never! I'm not even that type of guy, Naruto." He replied indignantly, sipping on his glass of water.

Naruto laughed and turned to look back at the security guard.

"Hey I'm just teasing, I have to tell that to all my customers – new company policy you see." He teased, giving Kiba a small wave before going to attend to other customers.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the water." Kiba said to the retreating figure.

Unsure of what to do, Kiba continued to sit at the bar. Fans came up to the bar and asked for autographs and he happily signed them. It was nice to know his music and talent was appreciated.

"Album coming soon guys!" He said with a wave as they left the bar.

_Speaking of which, what time is it? _He thought to himself in alarm.

He checked his wrist watch to see that it was almost one in the morning.

"Oh damn it!" He said in surprise. It took him about an hour to get home, so he usually left the bar by midnight. At this point he wasn't even sure if the buses were still running.

Racing for the entrance, he was stopped when the same tall security guard stepped into his way.

"Whoa there pal, I'm gonna need to see your ID." The man, clearly a few years older and taller, asked Kiba.

Kiba gave him a confused look.

"I'm_ leaving_ the club, why do you need to see my ID?" He had never had an issue coming into the club before, mainly because Naruto would get him in the side door.

"New club policies." The security guard said in a monotone voice, extending his hand.

Kiba scowled as he grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out his driver's license.

The security guard checked it over and smiled.

"So you're Kiba Inuzuka huh? Mr. Uzumaki talks pretty highly about you." He said, handing the card back to Kiba.

"That's nice to hear, I kind of have to go, I probably already missed my bus." Kiba replied, trying to get past the guard.

"Oh, that's no problem, Mr. Uzumaki told me to give you a ride home an hour ago since my shift is almost done." The guard explained.

"What?!" Kiba replied incredulously, looking back over at the bar to see a smiling Naruto winking and giving him a thumb up.

_I swear the nerve of that guy… _For the second time that night he blushed a deep red and turned back to the security guard with anembarrassed smile on his face.

"That's really nice of you mister…"

"Shikamaru, Shikamaru Nara." The guard answered with a nod. He was serious and yet kind at the same time, and it was unnerving Kiba.

"Mr. Nara it's nice to meet you, but I really don't mind catching the bus." Kiba explained quickly, imagining how mad his mother would be if she checked his bed before three in the morning and found him missing in action.

"It's no problem Kiba; Mr. Uzumaki already gave me the directions to your place."

_He what? _Kiba inwardly screamed.

Kiba shook his head and sighed in defeat.

"Naruto is gonna get it next week when I'm back to perform…" He muttered under his breathe.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow, but Kiba just shook his head.

"It's nothing, thank you so much Mr. Nara." A smile reappeared on Shikamaru's face.

"It's no problem, and please, stop calling me Mr. Nara. I'm only a few years older than you, Shikamaru is fine." He said, gesturing for Kiba to follow him out the front door.

"Okay Shikamaru, where did you park?"

/

Kiba was extremely surprised when they reached the parking lot.

Mr. Nara drove a red foreign sport car; Kiba had actually seen the same model in a magazine once.

"Wow, that's your car?" Kiba asked in awe. Shikamaru smiled at his response.

"It was gifted to me by an old friend, glad you like it." He replied as he pressed a button on a device in his hand to make the car come to life.

"It's awesome, and is this leather on the seats?" Kiba asked. A middle-class city boy, he wasn't used to being driven around in a sports car.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty nice." Shikamaru said with a confident smirk.

As they drove away from the club, the guard removed his jacket to reveal a woolly black sweater and a silver chain hanging from his neck.

"Weren't you hot in the club?" Kiba asked, looking down at his barely there fishnet top, a blush slowly forming on his nose.

"Man it was terrible, with the suit and everything – I could barely breathe." Shikamaru admitted, turning on the AC.

"Tell me if you get too cold," The guard said, staring deep into Kiba's eyes. The artist looked away, Shikamaru's stare a bit unnerving.

"I will…" Kiba muttered, turning away to hide his blush.

"So how long have you been making music?" Shikamaru asked, switching gears. Kiba looked up at him.

"Oh, since I was fourteen. I started writing all kinds of songs. After getting my allowance a year ago, I just went and bought a microphone and since then I've been recording and performing." He explained, for some reason feeling embarrassed telling this stranger his story.

"You did great tonight, I was impressed." Shikamaru replied, smiling but keeping his attention on the road.

"T-thanks," Kiba replied, deciding to follow suit.

/

"So, uh, what brought you to work at 'Life of Sin'? With Naruto, the pay can't be _that_ good." Kiba teased.

Shikamaru laughed and shook his head.

"Hey, I can't speak on _that_ but honestly the scene is pretty cool and it's a step up from the last place I worked."

"Yeah, I like the vibe of the whole place." Kiba added.

"Do you go often?" Shikamaru asked, turning to Kiba.

"Yeah, I'm a regular performer. Naruto knows I need the exposure, so he books me almost every week. It's a great way for me to get my name out there, and I'm still underage." Kiba explained.

"Yeah, we're going to have to keep that one between the three of us." Shikamaru replied, smirking.

"R-right! Sorry about that…"

"No, it's cool. It's nice to see a young guy with an ambition."

"Thanks, I'm really passionate about this music thing." Kiba admitted, started to feel comfortable with this stranger.

"I can tell. I bet you'll go far." Shikamaru replied, giving Kiba a nod of encouragement.

"So how about you Mr, I mean Shikamaru?" Kiba, feeling comfortable, asked.

"What do you mean 'how about me'?"

"What do you do in our spare time? I mean I'm still in school full-time even though I do some performing. Don't tell me you spend _all_ your time working security?"

They stopped at a red light and Shikamaru placed a finger to his chin and pondered the question.

"Well I do security for a place during the day and then Mr. Uzumaki's club at night. So yeah, I kind of do spend all my time working." He admitted. Kiba immediately felt bad.

"I-I'm sorry…" Shikamaru cut him off.

"But I do try to find time to do cloud-watching. I find that to be the most enjoyable thing. Instead of focussing intently on crowds and customers, I get to relax and just enjoy the passing clouds." Shikamaru explained, pressing his foot on the gas as the red light turned to green.

Kiba didn't know what to say.

"But now that I work two jobs, I don't have as much time to do it, and the weekends are spent sleeping." The guard finished.

"I see," Was all Kiba could say. He had misjudged Shikamaru. He had taken the young man to be a serious, focused man. But he seemed to have a fun and carefree side too.

"Can I come with you?" Kiba asked, his mouth a step ahead of his brain.

"Come with me _where_?" Shikamaru asked, turning onto a familiar street to Kiba.

"Uh, cloud watching…I mean it might help when I have writer's block." He tried to cover up his enthusiasm but failed. Shikamaru smiled and turned to him.

"Sure Kiba, if that's something you'd be interested in, consider yourself invited." The security guard said with a nod.

Kiba felt his chest swell…and then drop when he realized they had reached his house.

"Oh, I guess we're here." Kiba said, slightly disappointed.

"Thanks so much for the ride. That was like, twenty minutes. It would have taken me an hour to get home by myself." Kiba said with a smile, unbuckling his seat belt.

"No problem, I'll see you at the club again, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be there sometime next week."

"Alright, I'll see you…" The security guard was cut off by Kiba planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks again," Kiba whispered before racing out of the car and running to his front door. If he had stayed a second longer, he would have seen a blush on the guard's cheeks as he drove away, shaking his head and smirking.

**xxx**

**It's been a while since I posted a story so here you go! R&R as usual. I hope there are still some KibaxShika fans around to enjoy this. I have some more coming soon! **

**-GeminiMercedes-**


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